Atkins, who was Cobb’s roommate during the tournament, finished with a total of 59 pounds, 4 ounces at the final weigh-in at Colonial Life Arena, topping runner-up Travis Fox by 2 pounds, 9 ounces and Cobb by 4 pounds, 10 ounces.

Cobb, a 27-year-old angler from Greenwood and a 2012 Clemson University graduate, managed to catch only four keepers on the final day – one chunky bass less than he needed. Cobb, who was leading entering the final day, was competing in his third Forrest Wood Cup; he has posted Top 10 finishes in each.

“It would have been more frustrating if I had had four (bass) all day,” said Cobb, who roomed with Atkins throughout the FLW season. “It wasn’t really like I was stuck on four – I was happy to get four.”

Then, half an hour before tournament’s end, he lost what would have been keeper No. 5.

“I lost a really, really big one,” Cobb said. “I don’t know if it was big enough to win, but it would have given him a run for his money. I knew I was going to be one fish short of winning.”

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Brandon Cobb awaits Sunday's weigh-in in front of a large crowd at Colonial Life Arena.(Photo: SCOTT KEEPFER/Staff)

Atkins, of Florence, Ala., pocketed $300,000 for the victory. Fox, of Rogers, Ark., won $60,000 while Cobb earned $50,000.

Atkins, a former collegiate angler at Mississippi State, was runner-up for FLW Rookie of the Year last season.

“To win this is unbelievable and life-changing,” said Atkins, who attended last year’s Forrest Wood Cup as a spectator.

Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina, the 2017 FLW Angler of the Year, finished fourth, while local favorite Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup champion who was bidding to become the first angler to win two Wood Cups, finished fifth with 51 pounds, 3 ounces.

“I just started running around too much,” Gagliardi said. “I got sucked into the schooling bite.”

Cobb, too, said he should have exhibited more patience on the tournament’s final day.

“If they didn’t bite on my first three casts, I was out of there, but today I probably would’ve been better off being patient,” said Cobb, who caught all of his fish during the tournament on top-water baits. “Today they weren’t sitting where I thought they should be; they were roaming around and schooling.”

Attendance for the daily weigh-ins and the FLW Expo at the Columbia Convention Center next door was 68,315.